Billy Corgan Explores Virtual Reality With ‘Aeronaut’ Video

Billy Corgan, or William Patrick Corgan as he's being billed for his latest album, is ready to take viewers on a journey with his latest video for "Aeronaut." As explained at the top of the clip, "The following was conceived, created and captured in virtual reality."

Throughout the video, a bright, white-suited Corgan appears at a slightly neon-illuminated piano performing the beautiful song off his new solo album Ogilala. But while Corgan remains a constant, the visuals around him change, evolving from pitch black to a colorful and serene waterside scene to brightly-hued cityscapes and eventually hurtling through hyperspace with a splash of spectral colors. It's a rather simplistic video in concept, but one that beautifully captures the mood of the song.

The clip serves as a 2D preview of a forthcoming immersive virtual reality experience for the Ogilala disc. The video was created inside a 3D world that was imagined by San Francisco artist and filmmaker Danny Bittman and brought to life by the joint Viacom NEXT and Isobar team. The project is designed for room scale systems, initially for Microsoft's Mixed Reality headsets, with additional version for other systems to follow. Look for the VR experience being made available to the public in early 2018.

Corgan is getting ready to play a handful of dates in Los Angeles at the Masonic Lodge in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery this coming week. Four sold-out nights will play out between Nov. 9-12. In addition, Corgan will appear on The Late Late Show With James Corden on Nov. 8, performing his song "The Spaniards" off the new disc ahead of his L.A. dates.